MULTIPLE children were injured, yesterday, when a car crashed outside a primary school in central China, state media said, without providing more details about the number of casualties or the person responsible.
China has witnessed a spate of deadly incidents in recent months, from mass stabbings to car rammings, a rare development for a country with a proud reputation for public security.
The issue has prompted soul-searching about the state of society, with some despairing about why an increasing number of people seem willing to “take revenge” on random civilians.
Many initial videos of yesterday’s incident already appeared to have been removed from China’s tightly controlled social media platforms, echoing other mass casualty events.
State news agency reported just before 10am that “multiple students were injured”, while state broadcaster CCTV said the “specific casualties” were still being investigated.
State media had not shared further details almost five hours after the news first emerged, But footage circulating on Chinese social media which matched online images of the school appeared to show the aftermath of the incident, with dozens of children running in panic away from the site of the crash yelling “help, hel. , Several people including a young child can be seen but lying on the ground.
Another showed a bloodied man being hit with sticks by passersby shouting “beat him!” as he lay on the ground next to an SUV.
The crash took place outside Yong’an primary school in the central city of Changde, home to over five million people, in Hunan province.
“The Chinese government has always taken and will continue to take effective measures to ensure people’s safety and social stability,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular briefing.
China has this year seen a string of mass casualty incidents, which some analysts have linked to growing anger and desperation at the country’s slowing economy.
